Health4Tips: lunch

Showing posts with label lunch. Show all posts

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Zucchini and vegetable slice

I've seen lots of zucchini slice recipes, usually involving up to 10 eggs, heavy cream, lots of hard cheese and rashers of bacon making them tasty but only suitable as "sometimes" food. I have given these recipes the LGH magic wand to make a more nutritious option that you can eat more regularly if you wish. It's tasty and also versatile and can be eaten hot or cold. Add whatever you have in the fridge for a delicious summer meal.
My version had zucchini, carrot, onion, fresh parsley, dill, peas, spinach and red salmon - but this recipe has flexibility to use whatever is in your fridge!

Ingredients
2 large zucchinis

2 large carrots
1 onion
a cup of whatever other vegetables you have handy (fresh frozen or canned) such as spinach, corn, peas, shallots, capsicum
fresh or dried herbs
1 cup of leftover rice or canned cannelini beans or chick peas for low GI energy
200g can red salmon (optional - consider adding diced tofu for protein if you are not a fish eater)
1 cup wholemeal self raising flour
5 eggs (whisked)

squeeze of lemon juice
1/2 cup grated low fat cheese

Method:
Preheat oven to 200 C
Grate your zucchini and carrots into a large bowl
Finely dice onion, herbs and any other veggies and add all into the bowl.
Add rice or drained beans and can of salmon, season with salt pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice

Mix everything well then add flour, whisked eggs and mix through
Sprinkle cheese on top
Spoon into a well greased cake tin /baking dish and bake for 30-40 mins or so until golden on top and springy. Slice into squares. Serve hot with a salad or vegetables, or cold .

Serves 8-10
Keep for 3 days in the fridge or 4 weeks in the freezer.

Bon appetit!

What does a balanced meal look like?

Privacy breakfast , dinner

I keep harping on about a balanced diet. Balanced this and balanced that. In my posts about breakfasts and even snacks, I keep referring to this. What do I mean?

I think its important to think about each meal as an opportunity to nourish yourself. To nourish your senses with wonderful colours and flavours, aromas and textures. And to nourish your body with an array of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients it needs. And finally you could also go as far as to say to nourish your soul with the pride of a home cooked meal, or the company of friends on a special occasion, or family around your regular dinner table or the quiet peace of contentedly eating by yourself.

Now not every single meal will do all of these things, but I believe its a great way to think about your food and how it nourishes you. But moving beyond these qualities of your meal, how much of everything do you include? Well this first post is about balance, then later we will talk about portion sizes.

Think about your plate like a clock face and divide it into quarters. Two of these quarters (half your plate) at every meal should be fruit or non starchy vegetables. One of the quarters should be lean protein, and one of your quarters should be starches - low GI carbohydrates. Add to this a small amount of healthy fats and oils and you have a balanced meal. This is how I try to plan every meal.

So what does this look like practically?

Well let's start with the easiest plate to imagine - dinner time. Here's a dinner photo I found off the internet:

This plate is about right with half the plate made up of salad, a quarter of lean protein (the lamb cutlets) and a quarter of low GI carbohydrates (the tasty looking wild rice mix). But most of us don't get this right at dinner - we tend to eat too much carbohydrates (how much pasta do you pile upon your plate? how many potatoes? what about bread?) and also too much meat - imagine how large a big steak would look on a plate like this. And rarely do we as a population eat HALF of our plate as fruit or vegetables. But these are the simple changes in proportions that will make all the difference when you're watching your weight or improving your health.

So that's some ideas for dinner, the easy one, but what about the other meals? You see EVERY meal should be in balance like this. Over 90% of Australians don't eat enough fruit and vegetables a day, and this is the case for most other Western countries. Do you eat fruit and vegetables with every meal?

Here's a breakfast plate to show you- its a photo I took when I was eating out for breakfast with my husband. Half the plate is vegetables (spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes) with lean protein (eggs), low GI carbohydrates (the beans) and some good fats (avocado). Granted it is quite a big breakfast, but it was also delicious!

Or if cooked breakfast isn't your thing, what about cereal? how much do you eat? Most processed cereals are very highly processed, high GI and loaded with sugar and fat and usually doesn't cover our other bases. Here's another balanced breakfast plate. Note that half the bowl is filled with fruit (in this case strawberries, blueberries and raspberries) and the other quarters (piled on top of each other) are the protein (Greek yoghurt) low GI carbs (muesli) and good fats (in the seeds and nuts). This is what I have for breakfast most days of the week.

Getting the picture?

Lets do one more. How about the lunch I had today. You should be getting good at this by now!! This is a bit trickier because its all piled in a heap, but can you pick out the different foods?

I started with the vegetables by piling the bowl full of spinach leaves and tomatoes. Then I added the low GI carbs (can you see the sneaky chick peas? there are about 3 tablespoons of chick peas in the salad). Next came the protein - a small can of tuna and some feta cheese. Finally I topped it with some good fats in the form of sunflower seeds, pepitas and avocado. Oh and the raisins on top are a little more fruit!

Now whether you are eating a salad bowl or breakfast like me, or a big grainy sandwich, or a baked dinner with all the trimmings, think about the balance on your plate. Half non-starchy veggies/fruits, quarter protein, quarter low GI carbs and some tasty healthy fats and you will be on the way to great balanced health. This is an easy change you can make right now :)

So, in summary!

1/2 Plate Vegetables
Fill up your plate with raw or cooked vegetables for nutrition, taste and healthy filling fibre. Remember to include many different colours and types for a full array of nutrients.

1/4 Plate Lean Protein
Lean protein will help you to stay satiated, sustain your energy throughout the day, and protect your heart and waistline. This can be lean meats, fish and also non meat sources of protein such as soy, nuts, tofu and others. Remember, twice as many vegetables as protein.

1/4 Plate Healthy low GI carbohydrates (or starches)
Whole grains, like brown rice, contain fibre to give you long-lasting energy, stabilise blood sugar and provide B-vitamins to protect your heart. Try quinoa, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and more! Legumes are excellent for this also. The more colourful your starch, the better!

We will talk soon about portion sizes. In the meantime if you want to know more about the foods we should be including daily, check out the Australian Healthy Eating Guide. And if you need more specific advice tailored to you, see a dietitian!

Bon appetit!

Related posts:
What to eat for a healthier you
To snack or not to snack, that is the question
The beauty of breakfast

Lyndal @ Lean Green and Healthy

Omega 3 fatty acids - fish and more!

Privacy fish , healthy eating

Brain food! And yes, my herring salad was delicious!

I love eating fish

Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for optimal health. The only way we can gain them naturally is though our diet. Omega 3 has well established health benefits - not only does it prevent heart disease and is vital for brain health and development, it has also been shown to be beneficial in conditions such as diabetes, obesity, depression, arthritis, ADHD and skin disorders. It also has strong anti inflammatory properties which are very important for people with chronic disease.

Because of these known benefits, lots of people buy fish oil supplements which is of course fine. But you really don't need to. Did you know a can of sardines or herrings (like I had for lunch today) contains over 3,000mg of DHA? Fresh cold water fish like salmon or albacore tuna are also excellent sources as are oysters, mussels and squid. In a statement by the American Heart Association it was confirmed that eating fresh fish twice a week reduced the risk of sudden cardiac death by 50%!!

Don't eat fish? That's okay! Omega 3 fatty acids are also found in flaxseeds, soybeans, chia seeds and walnuts as well as green leafy vegetables. The recommendations is that we should be including more of all sources in our diet on a daily basis, not just fish.

And here's the kicker - while the evidence for inclusion of more fresh sources of Omega 3 in our diets is clear, the evidence for fish oil supplements is a little less impressive. Nutrition science is complex, and as has been found in so many cases when we try and break down the microcnutrients of each food to find the "magic bullet" we don't always get exactly the same benefits.

Just eat real food.

Lyndal @ Lean Green and Healthy.

More information?
University of Rochester medical center

Recipe - mushroom soup

Privacy lunch , mushrooms

The finished product- tasty and nutritious!

I went to make a salad for lunch today, but sadly I was all out of spinach (noooooo!). Time to be creative! Fortunately I had lots of other veggies in the fridge including a pack of mushrooms. Did you know mushrooms are incredibly nutritious? (Click this link if you want to read more about their wonders) So instead of salad, I made a quick and tasty mushroom soup. Here's the recipe!

Ingredients

400g mushrooms

1 tsp minced or 1 clove of fresh garlic

2 cup vegetable or chicken stock

Handful fresh or a few tsps dried herbs of your choice (I used rosemary and thyme)

Shallots or onion or leek

Some milk or yoghurt to serve

Small amount of butter or olive oil

Start by chopping the white parts of your shallots (or onion or leek) and sautéing in a heavy based saucepan with garlic and a little butter or olive oil. Olive oil has more proven heart benefits, but I prefer the taste of butter for these things but the choice is yours - only make sure you just use a little bit or your soup will be oily. Use 1 tsp minced garlic if you're using a jar, or finally chop a clove of fresh garlic you have it.

While the onion and garlic is cooking, chop up around 400-500g mushrooms. It seems like a lot but they disappear when they cook. Any mushrooms will do, the darker the mushrooms the stronger the flavour. I had small white button mushrooms in my fridge today so that's what I used!

Slice them relatively finely to aid cooking but don't be too precise, they will all be blended eventually so don't need to be pretty.

Pop the mushrooms in with the onion and garlic and stir for a few minutes until they start to cook and soak up the little bit of oil in the pan. Add your stock, herbs and some ground black pepper and leave to simmer for 5-10 minutes. I used some fresh rosemary and dried thyme, but parsley, basil, oregano or chives would all work beautifully.

While this is cooking you may choose to make some tasty topping for your soup. I had half a rasher of bacon in the fridge leftover from another meal so decided to use it up along with the green tops of the shallots. You could also chop some fresh herbs or use croutons or flaked almonds - whatever you feel like. I chopped the fat and rind off the bacon (and fed it to my happy dogs) and diced what was left and popped it in a hot pan with the shallots. As I cook with a well seasoned cast iron frypan, I didn't need any extra fat or oil ..... depending on your pan you may need a little. I also tore off some fresh parsley leaves.

Once the mushrooms are looking brown and soft, take the soup off the heat and zap with a stick mixer or put it in your blender. Make it as smooth or lumpy as you wish. You can eat it as is if you like more watery soup or add some milk or yoghurt to make it taste creamier and more filling. I found two tablespoons of Greek yoghurt stirred through gave it a lovely finish.

Serve immediately with your choice of toppings!

It's cheap, tasty, nutritious, takes about 15 minutes and serves 4.

Note: once you add the yoghurt or milk this is probably not ideal to freeze, but should keep nicely in the fridge for a day or so.

Enjoy!!

Lyndal @ Lean Green and Healthy

Health4Tips

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Zucchini and vegetable slice

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

What does a balanced meal look like?

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Omega 3 fatty acids - fish and more!

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Recipe - mushroom soup

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